Meningitis in children: how does it appear, what signs will help in time to sound the alarm?

Meningitis is a disease in which the envelope of the brain is inflamed due to the ingestion of certain microbes into the body. Microbes can be represented by viruses, bacteria, fungi or some other microorganisms. The only condition is that they can penetrate through the protection from several layers of cells, which the body surrounded the brain.

Meningitis most often affects children, since their immunity has not yet developed protection against many microorganisms, because it is simply not familiar with them. And to "get acquainted", you need to have any form of infection (not necessarily meningitis) or get vaccinated. Therefore, every parent should own information, meningitis in children as manifested.

Who is most susceptible to the disease?

To get meningitis, you need several conditions:

• An aggressive microbe that can penetrate the brain is enough. By the way, such microbes can become measles, rubella and mumps viruses, and the varicella and herpes virus use the nervous system as a favorite target.
• Weakened body. For children, it is enough that they are small, their immunity is just not strong enough, but if they still had something before, supercooled or had to give hormonal drugs (for example, for the treatment of eczema, severe allergies or rheumatic diseases), then Chances that the usual ORVI or diarrhea of enterovirus origin can be complicated by meningitis, are increasing.
• Prematurity.
• Congenital diseases of the central nervous system caused by intrauterine infection or intoxication (poisoning).
• Craniocerebral injury.

How does meningitis appear in children?

If the child can talk, he indicates that his head hurts. At the same time, he can point fingers at both the forehead and the temples, and indicate an undefined localization, showing that the whole head hurts. This pain is easier to bear lying down, it increases with bright light and loud sounds.

In addition, the child has an elevated body temperature (usually - to high figures), he becomes sluggish, drowsy. That, meningitis in children as manifested, can resemble the severe course of ARVI (especially the flu). Therefore it is very important when a combination of such symptoms as a headache against a background of high temperature, which disappears for a short while with the taking of an anesthetic, is accompanied by weakness, drowsiness, and call a doctor. And if this is supplemented by the signs indicated below, it is best not to wait for complications, but to call an ambulance.

Other symptoms suggesting that this is meningitis:

• Nausea, vomiting, which can not be associated with the reception of substandard products; They appear suddenly, vomiting - "fountain", after it does not become easier, such vomiting is not accompanied by diarrhea;
• It is very unpleasant to look at a bright light;
• Ordinary touch causes unpleasant sensations;
• Cramps in children older than 6 years on the background of any temperature increase, up to 6 years - if they appeared.

Do children have meningitis? A rash. There is not always a clear dependence of these two phenomena. But if the rash is dark and does not disappear when you press it with transparent glass (this may be a glass), there is a high probability that it is meningococcal (less often pneumococcal or haemophilus influenza) infection, which without meningitis is life threatening. Also, meningitis can complicate those diseases that are manifested by a rash: rubella, measles, chicken pox, scarlet fever. So any rash in the child - an occasion to call a doctor.

Through how much meningitis is manifested?

It depends on what kind of microbe it is caused and how the body resists infection. On average, it takes two to seven days from the time of infection to the first manifestations of the disease in viral and primary bacterial (meningococcal, hemophilic) meningitis. Secondary meningitis, which would be a complication of otitis, sinusitis or other bacterial diseases, develops from a week to two.

Meningitis in children: how it manifests itself at the age of up to one year

It's one thing if a child can say what's bothering him, and quite another, if he's too small.

Parents should alert such signs:

• high body temperature;
• Prolonged monotonous crying, while the child screams harder, if you try to take it in your arms;
• A large fontanel becomes tense, protrudes above the level of the bones of the skull;
• The child takes a forced position in bed: lying on his side, with his head thrown back;
• The baby refuses the breast or milk mixture;
• Vomiting "for no reason" (that is, the child could not be something to eat);
• Convulsions;
• There may be a rash, and more often it is the one that does not disappear when pressing on it with glass or stretching the skin under it, because at that age, there are rarely viral meningitis; More often the disease is caused by mennigococcus, pneumococcus, H. influenza, less often - streptococcus or staphylococcus.